an open-air cardThese little open-air carts are a popular way to get around Yangshuo. One time we were able to fit 14 people in one! (though, that is not recommended, lol)Seth, warming up for his practice teaching.Apparently, anything can be cured with FIRE!Ah, the golden arches, the universal symbol for happiness!So I have just a Read More
Category: blog post
Chinese Food
Part of the tour of Yangshuo with Patrick was a trip to the market. The market is divided into two parts: the fruit market (which has fruits, veggies, and a few meats) and the meat market (which has all kinds of meat, poultry, fish, and a few fruits and veggies). Seth and I did go Read More
Long Post is Long, part 2: The Move
Sunday we discovered that our school had been changed on us again and that we were leaving that afternoon. Suddenly it was time to pack, get postcards made and sent, get snacks. We said our goodbyes to the other teachers, loaded up in the van and off to the train station. The porter we hired Read More
Finally, an Assignment and Train Adventure!
So long before we ever came to China, we requested to go to Yangzhou, a prefect on the Hunan/Guangxi boarder and only three hours from Guilin. During the school assignments, though, we found out that for some reason Yangzhou was not taking and new foreign teachers. We were hearing rumors from problems with the government Read More
Orientation/Training at Buckland College (with a side trip to the government hospital)
Seth and I both had to take the TESOL training at Buckland to be qualified to teach English as a second/foreign language in a Chinese school. Only makes sense. The only problem is that usual TESOL training is 120 hours. Buckland has managed to pull enough strings to condense the traning down into 40 hours Read More
Long post is long, part 1
So I’ve been pondering what kind of title to start off with. “Don’t Drink the Bi-Jo.” “28 Hours of No Sleep.” “Third Time Isn’t the Charm.” There has been a lot to do and its hard to just find time to sit down a relax for a while. Thursday was watching others teach the test Read More
Busy three days
With classes started the days have been very busy. Its hard enough to find time to type, let alone make a posting. But I’ve got a few minutes before breakfast this morning so here goes. The food so far has been good in the school’s cafe. The fix several dishes and bring out plates of Read More
Yangshuo
Yangshuo (or as the locals pronounce it “Yangsou”) is the center of English learning in China. In this small town, there are over a dozen English schools. Several of them are owned by members of Owen Buckland’s family (Owen is the president/owner of our agency). So it is very westernized and everyone speaks at least Read More
Trying to stay awake
I’ve been up since 2300. Have to start getting used to military time. Trying to find things to do to keep me busy and awake until the evening and I can go to sleep. Its hard with the heat, but I’ve got classes tomorrow and need to get my sleep schedule changed now. Last night Read More
One Night in Shanghai
The nice thing about Shanghai Pudong airport (there are at least two airports I think in Shanghai) is that everything is written in English and Chinese. And most employees speak English as well. We got off the plane and needed to use the bathroom; thankfully, they were all Western-style. There were little rolling carts waiting Read More